Ring binder



' June 8, 1943. c. D. TRUSSELL 2,321,553

RING BINDER Filed July 23, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

CLARENCE Q TRUSS'L 4.

TORNJZV.

June 8, 1943. c. D. TRUSSELL 2,321,553

' RING BINDER Filed July 25, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.CZA/PEA/CE 0. 779055544 Patented 'June 8, 1943 RING BINDER.

Clarence D. Trussell, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., assignor to TrussellManufacturing Company, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., a corporation of Newv YorkApplication July 23, 1942, Serial No. 452,111

3 Claims.

The invention here disclosed relates to ring binders.

Special objects of the invention are to provide a binder oflight-weight, inexpensive construction, easily manufactured from readilyavailable materials; which will hold the leaves securely but in areadily releasable fashion and which further will be somewhat flexiblein character, thus to avoid injury and wear on the leaves, such asoccasioned by the rigid metallic form of rings heretofore employed.

The foregoing and other desirable objects are attained by novel featuresof construction, combinations and relations of parts, all as hereinafterdescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and covered in theclaims.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of the followingspecification illustrate typical and at present preferred embodiments ofthe invention. Structure however, may be modified and changed as regardsthe present illustration tional details as on the lines 3-3 and 4-4respectively of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a broken plan of the wooden back member showing the undercutkeyhole grooves providing the holding seats for the ends of the flexiblering element.

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail illustrating a modified form of the woodenback construction.

In the form of the binder first illustrated, the back is made up ofinner and outer members it] and H, of wood or similar material, fittedtogether in tongue and groove fashion with a longitudinal rib or ridgeI2, on one member, the outer member in this instance, seating in agroove I3, in the other member.

The outer part II, is shown covered with a layer of fabric or othermaterial l4, adhesively or otherwise secured and with opposite edgesturned in between the two members at opposite sides of the mating tongueand groove and the inner layer of the cover material I5, is shown posed,undercut keyhole slots I8, arranged with their larger ends inward,toward the center ridge of the back piece and their narrower endsoutward toward the edges of said back piece.

These undercut keyhole slots in the inclined sides of the back pieceform keepers or seats for the rings which hold the sheets or leaves IS.

The rings 20, are unique in that they are formed of leather or some suchlike firm but flexible, tough and strong non-metallic material.

At present, the so-called round leather belting, such as used for sewingmachines, has been found a practical and desirable ring material. Suchbelting is substantially circular in crosssectiOn and finished smoothand hard enough for the leaves to slide readily thereover and for theshort lengths of material required, to hold the desired ring-likeformation. The ends of the flexible rings are embedded and anchored inthe back piece, in the present 'disclosure by providing heads 2|, on theends of such rings, which will pass through the circular enlargements atthe ends of the keyhole slots and back behind the material forming thenarrower undercut portions of the slots.

In practice, these securing heads on the ends I of the ring elements canbe produced by simply impressing, cutting or otherwise forming narrowgrooves 22, across opposite sides of the ring eleabout the width of thewall thickness at 23, constituting the overhang of the undercut slotsand disposed on an incline to the longitudinal axis of the ring element,thus to make the ring ends fit snugly and cause the rings to stand upfirmly and with a desired degree of rigidity from the back piece and inthe proper ring shape.

As a practical matter, it is desirable to have the rings in the shape ofa flattened oval rather than truly circular, such shape providinggreater leaf capacity.

These flexible rings of leather-like'material have a tendency to flattendown themselves under the weight of leaves, substantially as indicatedin Fig. 4, and as shown in Fig. 3, the inclination of the holdinggrooves 22, may be such as to give them an initial set in the ovaloutline.

The spring of the leather-like material provides a force tending to holdthe rings firmly anchored in place and the weight of the leaves tends tohold the ends of the rings outward, securely locked in the narrowerholding ends of the undercut keyhole slots. At the same time, any one orany number of rings may be readily unhooked and released at one or bothends by simply forcing such ends inwardly to the larger circularterminals of the keyhole slots.

While various means may be employed for fastening the ring carrying backmember in place, tubular rivets are well adapted to this purpose andsuch are shown so employed at 24, Figs. 1 and 4.

Instead of a V-shaped interlocking engagement between the outer andinner back members such as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a plain flat sidedtongue and groove engagement may be provided between these members, suchas illustrated at 25, 26, Fig. 6. Other forms or shapes ofinterlockingly engaging elements may be provided between the backmembers I0 and II.

The wooden back form of construction provides a desirably firm andsufficiently light-weight structure. The short lengths of flexibleleatherlike material forming the individual rings may be impregnated,compacted, coated or otherwise treated to give them any desired degreeof firmness, hardness or smoothness, or to provide additional tensilestrength, wearing qualities or the like.

What is claimed is:

l. A binder of the character disclosed, comprising a non-metallic backpiece of wood-like material, longitudinally ridged at the inside of thebinder and having oppositely disposed and reversely inclinedtransversely extending undercut slots, said slots being enlarged at theinner ends of the same and flexible non-metallic rings of springymaterial having end portions of a size to enter the enlarged ends ofsaid slots and being grooved in opposite sides of the same to transversedimensions which will enter the narrower portions of said undercut slotsand on lines inwardly inclined to the axes of said rings, whereby tocause the end portions of said rings to be held in upstanding outwardlyflared relation when so engaged on the back piece.

2. A binder, comprising inner and outer back members of wood, one havinga centrally disposed longitudinally extending rib projecting from theface of the same and the other having a correspondingly placedlongitudinally extending groove to receive said rib, a cover havingflange portions caught and held between said back members at oppositesides of the centrally disposed mating rib and groove, said inner backmember having transversely extending undercut grooves at the inner faceof the same and said grooves being enlarged toward the longitudinalcenter of said back member and flexible ring members of non-metallicmaterial having end portions to enter the enlarged inner ends of saidtransverse slots and transversely reduced portions to enter the narroweroutwardly extending portions of said transverse slots.

3. A binder of the character disclosed, comprising a non-metallic backpiece of solid material such as wood, said back piece having oppositelydisposed transversely extending slots undercut toward their outer endsto form opposed marginal confining ledges and enlarged at the inner endsto provide access beneath said ledges and rings consisting of shortlengths of firm, flexible, smooth, hard, springy non metallic materialhaving end portions of a size to enter the larger ends of said slots andto pass beneath said marginal ledges, said end portions havingtransverse grooves in opposite sides of the same of a widthapproximating the wall thickness of said ledges, said grooves being of adepth reducing the cross-section of the ring material to substantiallythe width of the narrow portions of the slots between said ledges,whereby when engaged in said narrow portions of the slots, said groovedend portions will be engaged and held by the ledges both above and belowthe ledges and will be gripped between said ledges and thereby bracedand made to stand up firmly on theback piece, said grooves lying inplanes which form an obtuse angle between themselves to hold saidupstanding end portions of the rings in outwardly divergent relation totension said rings in an opening direction when both ends are anchoredin place and whereby upon release of either end of a ring, said end Willspring up from the back piece while supported by the other end whichremains firmly anchored in upstanding relation on the back piece.

CLARENCE D. TRUSSELL.

